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An average day

Here's a good example Msradell. What title would you give this? Is it worth a thread of it's own? Hardly.

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The contractor thinks that the straps are for decoration.

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He became angry when I told him that a 120 volt receptacle must be installed on the roof. It seems that he has been doing this for 20 years and never installed an outlet on a roof.

Later that day I met the owner. She is 87 years old. There is a lot of work going on. New roof, service upgrade, package unit on the roof and get this, a 16 module PV system. She has paid them $67,000.00 to date with $21,000.00 owed. And that's just from the checkbook that she could find....there's another one somewhere and she can't remember how much she paid them with that checkbook.

I checked out the contractor at the license board website and found that he has been sanctioned for ripping of another octogenarian for $213,000.00. The violation is listed as pending and the license board lets him continue stealing. The whole bunch of them will flee back to Israel soon enough.

I never would have come across this if another inspector hadn't called in sick.

Damn, this is starting to look like it would have been worth it's own thread.
 
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I fully agree that having a catchall thread is great. Actually, I think it's easier than having each item in a different thread. I would however rather see one closed and a new one started with the date it started included in the title. Maybe do one for each year or something like that. Several times I've wanted to go back and look at something and new within the Average Day Thread but didn't know which one of the 2 to look at.
 
https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/Accusations/N2012-209/N2012-209-20130508-Accusation.pdf

The report states that the owner overpaid by $139k because the work was worth $74K. The truth is that she overpaid by $214K because she was induced to contract for work she didn't want or need.

This ripoff occurred in 2009 and is still pending? The CSLB is a worthless paper tiger.

I am but one inspector and I ran into this by accident. I wonder how many victims there have been since 2009? What the Hell is wrong with our government that they allow this to continue?

This is the service upgrade that was approved by another inspector. When I got there for a final electrical inspection, the workman immediately opened the enclosure. There was no approval signature on the permit so I commenced to write corrections.

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One of the corrections had to do with the NM in conduit.

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So he stripped the NM outer sheath back to the LB.

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Look at the mess he made of the underfloor vent.

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I explained why this will not be allowed. Then I proceeded to educate him on de-rating factors for heat and more than three conductors in a conduit. I did that in an effort to prevent further mistakes when he finally installs a j-box and the correct wire. This was before I knew about the ripoff. I'm not telling him another thing and he will do it over as many times as it takes to get it right.

The next time I deal with him I want to give him advice on how to improve a thief's game. You see, a good thief gets the job done without any hiccups. It is important to be in and out before anyone catches on. Had the work passed inspection the first time, (well it did, but that was not me) I would have been moving on and perhaps never known what really went down.

That is what I want to do....big trouble if I do. This is far from the first time I have run onto this behavior. The bandits threaten to sue me and the dept. I end up in front of bosses who are peassed off because I did anything at all, much less went to the DA's office.
 
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Later that day I met the owner. She is 87 years old. There is a lot of work going on. New roof, service upgrade, package unit on the roof and get this, a 16 module PV system. She has paid them $67,000.00 to date with $21,000.00 owed. And that's just from the checkbook that she could find....there's another one somewhere and she can't remember how much she paid them with that checkbook.
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She found another check in the amount of $36,000.00 for a preliminary total of $103,000.00. The contractor showed up while I was there today. He had another contract that she has signed. The scope of work is a sub-panel in a two room dwelling. The price is $29,000.00

She also paid them $32,000.00 for work done to a bathroom at her daughter in-law's home. I haven't found out what that entails yet.

I spent 20 minutes on the phone with adult protective services.

The contractor promised to have me fired for looking at contracts. He swears that the last time an inspector got in his way, the inspector (LA City) was fired. I told him that I was growing tired of this job anyway and I've heard that there's an opening at LA City.

I apprised my supervisor. I saw instant anger....directed at me. It was fleeting and morphed into resignation. I was told to expect a decision from above as to whether I should get involved with deals like this..
 
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I have ran across a couple "suspect" contractors, but nothing on the level of this. I was talking to one of our other inspectors about how we would deal with a rip-off situation like this and it's a slippery slope. I would be interested in talking to my boss and the city attorney to get their opinion. But, at some point, a decision would have to be made by me. Would I be willing to lose my job over an elderly person being ripped off? I don't think I could live with myself if I let it pass. I have a moral obligation as a Christian and a human being to protect those who can't protect themselves. If that led to me losing my job, I would be okay with that.
 
kyhowey said:
I have a moral obligation as a Christian and a human being to protect those who can't protect themselves. If that led to me losing my job, I would be okay with that.
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I feel the same way. I have civil service protection so they couldn't pry me out of here with a stick. Not to mention the stink that would get on them if they tried to fire me for protecting a little old lady.

This has happened a dozen times and I get the same BS response each time. I am told that it isn't my job to deal with this stuff. My answer is always, "no problem, tell me who's job it is and I will alert them". I never get an answer.
 
There are some provisions, varies by state, for a judge to break an unconsionable contract. But first Adult protective services or a family member needs to intervene and then get attorneys involved.
 
Frank said:
There are some provisions, varies by state, for a judge to break an unconsionable contract. But first Adult protective services or a family member needs to intervene and then get attorneys involved.
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Ditto what Frank said. Family, APS, local conservator.

Sue
 
Today I was contacted by the stepson and niece of the elderly lady. I met them earlier so I do know that they are legitimate. I was told that they are concerned for her health and the stress of all this is too much for her. They requested that I stop all proceedings with the license board and Adult Protective Services.

They thanked me for stopping the ripoff at $136,000.00 because it could have easily grown larger. Then they told me that they hired another contractor to complete the project.

Not only does the bandit get to keep all of the loot, he doesn't even have to finish the work. He's thinking, "America, what a wonderful place"
 
I've never been a fan of indoor-outdoor carpet. Why is it named that anyway? Have you ever seen it used indoors?

 
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I was on the property to investigate a complaint of an illegally converted garage. It appears that this house was built without permits. It is located at the back of a one acre lot and hidden from the street. It was built in 2006 by the now deceased father of the current owner.
 
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How does a house get built without permit/inspections and then hooked into utilities? I guess utility companies could care less about inspections.
 
I was there for a re-roof. The contractor called me this morning and asked for a same day inspection. When I reached the roof I saw the rest of the story. He said that he forgot to mention that he needed an inspection for a service upgrade.



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Thanks Lady,

I've been on vacation and when I'm working, I'm not doing that many inspections.

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Yeah and I know why you're not doing that many inspections. The ones you do take time, lots of time. The old 1 hour inspection doesn't seem to happen to you. Sheesh.

ICE said:
Thanks Lady,I've been on vacation and when I'm working, I'm not doing that many inspections.

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